Carpet sweeper



CARPET SWEEPER Filed July 27, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Iii [QM $01M 7 Mozlkr Oct. 31, 1967 o. SMYTH ET AL CARPET SWEEPER 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJuly 27, 1965 Oct. 31, 1967 p. SMYTH ET AL r 3,349,421

CARPET SWEEPER Filed July 27, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 aerbwi 6% PM M zz-Oct. 31, 1967 u. SMYTH ET AL CARPET 'SWEEPER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July27, 1965 IYL' 6 United States Patent 3,34,421 CARPET SWEEPER Donald'Smyth, Forbes, South Australia, and Paul Eastcott Robinson, SouthPayneham, South Australia, Australia, assignors to S. A. Brush CompanyLimited, Albert Park, South Australia, Australia Filed July 27, 1965,Ser. No. Claims priority, application Australia, July 30, 1964, 47,580/64 4 Claims. (Cl. 15-48) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This inventionrelates to an improved carpet sweeper.

Many forms of carpet sweepers have been proposed heretofore, theseusually operating on the common principle of utilising a plurality ofdriving wheels, preferably four, which actuate a brush which is arrangedto be in contact with the ground and is disposed between pans which canbe hinged in such a manner that normally matter swept by the brush on tothese pans can be removed by swinging the pans to a releasing position,combs being used where necessary to ensure that the material which isgathered by the brush will be removed from the brush and deposited inthe pans. V

The present invention relates generally to this type of sweeper, butcertain objects have been aimed at which not only increase the operatingefliciency. of the carpet sweeper but also simplify the construction andgenerally provide a unit which has a number of advantages over thesweepers known heretofor One of the objects of the invention is toprevent undue pressure of the brush on the carpet which usually occursdue to the particular mounting of the wheels of the sweeper which areloaded to engage the brush and I0- tate it.

A further object is to so mount the combs which keep the brush clearthat they are positioned for most efi'ective action of the combs duringsweeping.

A still further object is to attain a construction which will have goodstrength coupled with simple mechanical features.

The first of these objects is achieved by mounting the ground-engagingwheels of the sweeper on shafts on each side of the brush which areguided in a frame of the sweeper to have a substantially horizontalmovement When the sweeper is in use, the movement being towards and awayfrom the brush, and to spring load them so that they are urged towardsthe brush to cause the wheels to engage rollers on the brush.

The second object is achieved by rotating the shafts With the wheels andfrictionally engaging the combs thereon so that the combs tilt accordingto the direction of movement of the sweeper, the combs being thus movedinto maximum operative position in relation to the brush at the correcttime.

The third and further objects are achieved by using a main frame havinga pair of end plates which support the wheel axles in their correctfunctional position and also support the handles and the collectionpans, these end plates being joined to end covers which extend over theoutside of the wheels, the end covers removably supporting the brush.

By means of these features pressure on the body of the sweeper exertedthrough the handle does not change the position of the brush in relationto the carpet or the like excepting for the amount which the wheels cansink into the carpet, in that the brush maintains a fixed height inrelation to the ground-engaging wheels of the sweeper, yet each of thewheels is free to move towards the brush to ensure adequate drivingcontact with the roller on each side of the brush, but the foremost pairof rollers will tend to exert the main drive because the pressure onthem due to forward motion of the carpet sweeper assists to urge theminto contact with the driving rollers of the brush whereas the rearmostpair of wheels tends to lessen its contact due to the forward motion ofthe sweeper tending to move these wheels away from contact with therollers on the brush.

Also the combs oscillate with reversal of movement of the sweeper tocontact the brush only on the stroke where they are correctly positionedto be most effective.

To enable the invention to be fully appreciated an embodiment, to whichthe invention need not be limited, will now be described with referenceto the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sweeper,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged section of same in line 22 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is an end elevation on line 3-3 without the cover,

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal section on line 44 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of one end of the sweeper showing therelationship of the main parts,

FIG. 6 is a similar view to FIG. 2 but of a modified Spring arrangementand with the brush driving roller only shown, and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged section of a modified comb.

Referring first to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 inclusive:

A pair of end plates 1 have slots 2 through them in which the bearings 3for the shafts 4 of the wheels 5 rotate, the slots 2 being radial to thebrush 6 so that the shafts 4 can move towards or away from the brush. Innormal operation these slots are horizontal. Springs 7 hold the bearings3 in contact with the driving rollers 8 on the brush, these end plates 1also supporting the handle bracket 9 which engages apertures 10 in theend plates. End cover plates 11 extend over the outsides of the wheels,these end cover plates having bearings 12 on them to support the brush,the end cover plates 11 being flexible, preferably being formed ofplastic, so that by moving them apart, apertures in the ends of thestock 13 of the brush 6 will disengage from the brush so that the brushcan be withdrawn from the unit for cleaning or other purposes. 7

The end cover plates 11 are held the required distance apart by framemembers 15 which engage brackets 16 secured to the end cover plates 11the length of these frame members 15 fixing the width of the sweeper.Extensions 17 on the brackets 16 are attached to the end plates 1.

A cover 19 extends over the top of this unit and has metal keepers 20which have slots 21 for the handle bracket 9 to project therethrough.The handle 22 is joined to the bracket 9 by a moulding 23. The keepers20 also hold down in position a soft plastic moulding 25 which extendsaround the four sides of the sweeper and form the buffer means whichensure that if the sweeper contacts furniture or the like there will beno damage caused by such contact.

The pans 27 are arranged on each side of the brush 6 near the groundlevel and are connected to the end plates 1 by hinge pins 28 disposed attheir inner part and are independently opened when required by grippingtheir outer ends and swinging the outer ends of the pans downwardly. Oneend of the springs 7, which are of elongated U-shaped, engage channels30 in the pans while their other ends engage the bearings 3 as said, thesprings passing over the tops of the end plates 1 through the notches31, the bearings 3 being urged inwards to cause the wheels 5 to contactthe driving rollers 8 of the brush as said.

The springs 7 thus provide the necessary driving friction on the brush 6and also serve to hold the pans 27 in their closed position but allowingthem to open against the spring pressure when required. The bearings 3have slots 32 similar to the slots 30 into which the springs engage.Lugs 33 help to confine the springs 7 in their operating position, andalso form stops for the combs on their inward movement, the slots 30 onthe pans 27 ensuring that the springs are held against the lugs 33.

The combs 36 are mounted on the shafts 4 which are secured to the wheels5 to be driven thereby. The two shafts 4 pass one in front of the brush6 and the other behind the brush 6 and each of these shafts has a comb 4engaged thereon by longitudinal slots 37 on the combs which slots have adepth such that they extend more than half-way around the shafts and area sufficiently tight fit to move with the shafts until the combs strikestops 38, whereupon the frictional mounting of the combs 36 on theshafts 4 allows the combs to stop. In this way the foremost comb will bemoved out of contact with the brush as the cleaner is pushed in thisdirection being then held against the stop 38 while the rearmost combwill be moved into contact with the brush because of the direction ofrotation of the shaft 4 on which it is mounted. In this way it will beappreciated that a simple mechanism is provided which will only bringthe appropriate, that is the trailing comb 36, into contact with thebrush at the correct time.

In the arrangement shown in FIG. 6, in which similar reference numeralsare used, the spring 7 load the wheel bearings only and then have theirends 40 engaged around lugs 41 which also form the inward limit stops ofthe combs 36, while the pans 27 are held in position by independentsprings 42 at each end the ends 43 of which engage apertures in thepans.

In the comb 36 shown in FIG. 7 the slotted boss 44 which engages theshaft 4 is closed by a member 45 welded or otherwise held in place butthe arrangement is still proportioned to give the frictional loading ofthe comb on the shaft.

From the foregoing it will be realised that a unit is provided which hasa number of improvements, one of these being that the height of thebrush in relation to the wheels remains fixed so that there is noproblem of overloading the brush by pushing it into a carpet or thelike, and also because of the particular arrangement of the Wheels inrelation to the brush an improved drive is achieved because the forwardset of wheels is always the major driving unit with a rear set of wheelseffecting a less drive when there is substantial drag on the sweeper,the combs being automatically moved into their correct position inrelation to the motion of the sweeper by being frictionally held on theshafts of the wheels, which shafts rotate with the wheels, otheradvantages being the particular construction of the unit using the endplates and end cover plates as well as the outer protection means whichensure that not only does the unit have a very improved appearance, butalso the protective means on it which save the furniture or the like areof a permanent nature and in fact form part of the cover.

While one complete embodiment of the invention has been disclosedherein, it will be appreciated that modification of this particularembodiment of the invention may be restored to without departing fromthe scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. An improved carpet sweeper of the type comprising a frame, endmembers supported on the frame, wheels adjacent the end memberssupported on axles movable in the end members, a brush supported betweenthe said axles, rollers on the brush, spring means urging the axles ofthe wheels towards the brush whereby to cause the Wheels to engage therollers on the said brush, wherein the end members are attached to framemembers which space the end members, and the frame members also supportend cover plates to define a space on the outside of each end member inwhich the wheels are disposed, the axles of the wheels being carried inbearings slidably engaged in slots in the end members disposed onopposite sides of the brush and in a plane to cause the bearings to movesubstantially toward or away from the brush substantially parallel tothe plane of movement of the sweeper when in use, pans disposed on eachside of the brush to collect matter picked up by the brush, said pansbeing hingedly mounted on the end members and engaged by U-shapedsprings passing over the end members and having one end engaged on thepans to normally hold them in a closed position and the other endsengaged on the bearings of the axles to urge them towards the brush, andmeans on the end members to hold the springs in place, whereby themovement of the axles is controlled to be substantially parallel to theplane of movement of the sweeper when in use whereby the driving load ofthe wheels on the brush does not materially alter the height of thebrush in relation to the wheels but drive of the brush takes placeprincipally by the forward wheels in any motion.

2. An improved carpet sweeper of the type comprising a frame, endmembers supported on the frame, wheels adjacent the end memberssupported on axles movable in the end members, a brush supported betweenthe said axles, rollers on the brush, spring means urging the axles ofthe wheels towards the brush whereby to cause the wheels to engage therollers on the said brush, wherein the movement of the axles iscontrolled to be substantially parallel to the plane of movement of thesweeper when in use whereby the driving load of the wheels on the brushdoes not materially alter the height of the brush in relation to thewheels but drive of the brush takes place principally by the forwardwheels in any motion, and including combs engaging the axles of theWheels and disposed one on each side of the brush, the combsfrictionally engaging the axles and the axles being locked to the wheelsso that so that rotation of the wheels and axles during use moves thecombs to cause the correct comb only to be in contact with the brush forcleaning same, and stop means to limit the movement of the combs underinfluence of the frictional engagement with the axles.

3. An improved carpet sweeper of the type comprising a frame, endmembers supported on the frame, wheels adjacent the end memberssupported on axles movable in the end members, a brush supported betweenthe said axles, rollers on the brush, spring means urging the axles ofthe wheels towards the brush whereby to cause the wheels to engage therollers on the said brush, and means to receive matter collected by thebrush, wherein the movement of the axles is controlled to besubstantially parallel to the plane of movement of the sweeper when inuse whereby the driving load of the wheels on the brush does notmaterially alter the height of the brush in relation to the wheels butdrive of the brush takes place principally by the forward wheels in anymotion, and the axles of the wheels are carried in bearings slidablyengaged in slots in the end members, spring means engage the bearings ofthe axles to urge the bearings and thus the axles of the wheels towardsthe brush whereby to cause the wheels to engage the rollers on thebrush, said axles nonrotationally engaging the wheels to be driventhereby,

combs disposed between the end plates on each side of the brush, saidcombs being frictionally held on the said axles and stop means to limitthe movement of the combs as the axles rotate, whereby when the sweeperis moved in one direction the rearmost axle will move the comb which isfrictionally held on it into engagement with the brush to clean saidbrush, but the comb on the opposite side is moved out of engagement withthe brush due to its frictional mounting on the axle on that side of thebrush.

4. An improved carpet sweeper comprising transversely extending framemembers, end members supported by the frame, wheels on the outside ofthe end members, axles non-rotationally engaging said Wheels, bearingsfor said axles slidably engaged in co-extensive slots in the end membersparallel to the plane of movement of the sweeper when in operation,cover plates disposed on the outside of the said wheels also connectedwith said frame, a cover extending over the said frame and end members,spring means on said end members engaging the bearings of the said axlesto urge the bearings inwardly towards each other in the saidco-extensive slots, a brush disposed between the said axles, means onthe cover plates rotationally and releasably engaging the ends of thesaid brush, rollers on the brush adjacent each end thereof, said wheelsbeing disposed to engage the said rollers on the brush under influenceof the said springs, pans disposed one on each side of the brushhingedly connected to the end plates, springs to hold the pans inposition but allowing same to be tilted for emptying, said pans beingnormally co-extensive on each side of the brush, and combs mounted onsaid axles to frictionally engage the said axles to move with the saidaxles, so that during use rotation of the wheels causes the correct combonly to be in contact with the brush for cleaning same, and stop meansto limit the movement of the combs under influence of the frictionalengagement with the axles.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 701,393 6/ 1902 Reynolds 15-411,813,325 7/1931 Smith 15-41 X 2,121,880 6/1938 Miller 15-48 2,270,1971/1942 Parrish 15-41 2,371,918 3/1945 Rubin 15-41 2,651,796 9/1953Wagner et a1. 15-48 FOREIGN PATENTS 455,252 10/ 1936 Great Britain.

799,856 8/ 1958 Great Britain.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner. E. L. ROBERTS, AssistantExaminer.

2. AN IMPROVED CARPET SWEEPER OF THE TYPE COMPRISING A FRAME, ENDMEMBERS SUPPORTED ON THE FRAME, WHEELS ADJACENT THE END MEMBERSSUPPORTED ON AXLES MOVABLE IN THE END MEMBERS, A BRUSH SUPPORTED BETWEENTHE SAID AXLES, ROLLERS ON THE BRUSH, SPRING MEAN URGING THE AXLES OFTHE WHEELS TOWARDS THE BRUSH WHEREBY TO CAUSE THE WHEELS TO ENGAGE THEROLLERS ON THE SAID BRUSH, WHEREIN THE MOVEMENT OF THE AXLES ISCONTROLLED TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE PLANE OF MOVEMENT OF THESWEEPER WHEN IN USE WHEREBY THE DRIVING LOAD OF THE WHEELS ON THE BRUSHDOES NOT MATERIALLY ALTER THE HEIGHT OF THE BRUSH IN RELATION TO THEWHEELS BUT DRIVE OF THE BRUSH TAKES PLACE PRINCI-